Title: Springtime in the Middle of Winter

Author: Dark Nuriko

Category: Yuri! On Ice!

Genre: Romance/Humor/Friendship

Pairings: None at first, eventually Victor/Yuri K.

Warnings: Shounen Ai, Language, Naughty Thoughts, perhaps Yaoi in later parts.

Ratings: T to NC-17, depending on my mood.

Disclaimer: Yuri! On Ice! And its wonderful characters do not belong to me. If they did, it would have been obviously Yaoi from the first episode. I make no profit off this fanfiction.

Author's Note: Seeing as I've been away from writing for a long time, I'm sure most of my readers are upset with me. As I write this, I am also working on several stories that have been ignored for quite a while. Life caught up with me and I just never had time to write. Now, it seems life has other plans for me. Due to medical issues as well as a recent car accident that left me car-less but at least alive, I am now able to focus far more time to my writing. As such, I've decided that a story centered around an anime that is swiftly becoming one of my absolute favorites would best suit a comeback to writing. Thus, we get this fic for Yuri! On Ice! I'll start out with simple friendship, taken from the beginning of the series from Yuri's POV and possibly go further from there. Depending on reviews, I might or might not even take it full Yaoi. Do let me know if my come back is worth it or if I should stop while I'm ahead. Now, onto the story.

Springtime in the Middle of Winter

Chapter One: In the Beginning: Yuri POV:

It's funny how one moment in your life can change everything. Never had my life ever been so complicated as it was the moment I came home to find the one person I would never have suspected to be in my home. I'd returned to my home in Hasetsu, Saga Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan to sulk and sink into the realization that I was finished as a figure skater. It was a small town with a few things that most small places wouldn't have. Like its own ice rink and a bathhouse that my family ran. Both were rather popular in the winter months, though it still wasn't as popular a spot as other vacation spots.

So why was it, that after resigning myself to never skating again, I had gone to the ice rink to have a pity skate? I'd let my mind wander and channeled the man I had been chasing after since I'd first seen him skate. Of course, I didn't believe I could ever do his programs justice. Yet I'd had fun all the same. It was a shame I would probably never skate in front of a crowd again. Yet suddenly, the day after the event, I found that footage of my skate had been placed online and was swiftly growing in popularity. I knew without any doubt that it had been Yuko's daughters who had done the video. I knew as much after Takeshi had called to tell me so. I wasn't overly upset, despite knowing it was going viral. It was possibly the last time anyone would see me on the ice, anyway.

So why was it now that there was a new change? Why was it that the man I had been imitating in that video was now in my family's bathhouse? Why was VICTOR NIKIFOROV here in JAPAN!? In my FAMILY'S place of business!?

Those were questions I knew I'd never know until I asked him. Yet how did one go about asking their idol why they were anywhere? Especially since talking to him had always been hard in the long road I had been chasing him. Seriously, we'd possibly shared a mere handful of words. Yet here he was, dog and all, in my home town.

My first Grand Prix Final ended horribly. After years of hard work, training non-stop, and chasing after my idol, I'd come in dead last and even ended up crying in the bathroom afterward. There was no end of amazing skaters and so many people expected so much from skaters. I'd come here so I didn't have to think. Of course, coming into the Grand Prix, I'd sabotaged myself. The family dog had died, I binged on food, and gained far too much weight. I flopped in the Grand Prix Finals and I also lost at the Nationals. Once that happened, it was just one large downhill flop and lead to me having nothing more to do for the season.

I continued to watch Victor win over and over and returned home to much praise, despite the fact I'd lost so much. I returned home fatter and less happy than ever. I'd totally planned to return to Yu-topia Akatsuki, my families hot spring/bath-house, to figure out what to do now. I'd originally wanted to quit, because I knew there was no chance I could fix what I'd already started with. I went to Ice Castle Hasetsu, the ice rink in town, to practice and just enjoy myself. I'd always loved ice skating and watching Victor, I'd become even more enamored of the sport. Seeing Yuko, I found myself wanting to skate for the girl who had always encouraged me, despite the unhealthy obsession I had with the Russian skater. In fact, she shared in the obsession with me.

I'd shown her the one thing I'd been working on for so long. I had been watching Victor for so long, that his every movement on the ice was pretty much ingrained in my mind. So, that day, I'd performed one of his programs flawlessly. Or rather… Yuko said I did. She called it a 'Perfect Copy of Victor'. She knew I was depressed. Believed I would be lost. And she was right. Yet now… I didn't know what to do. I'd come home and was tackled to the floor by a door that looked a whole lot like the one I'd lost. I'd named him Victor and even got him after seeing a picture of Victor with his own dog. The dog had greeted me rather warmly and my father came out to mention the very thing I'd noticed. That it looked a lot like Victor. He'd then informed me that he came with a new arrival to the hot spring. A good-looking young fellow with an accent.

Without waiting, I dashed into the hot spring, my father calling after me. Yet when I arrived, I found a very naked Victor in the bath, standing before me as I called out his name. "V… Victor… why are you here?" was all I could manage to get passed my lips.

To my surprise, he stood up, out of the water, naked as the day he was born and unashamed of it. He held out a hand to me and smiled. Then said the very words I would never forget. "Hello Yuri. Starting today I'm going to be your new coach. You're going to get to the Grand Prix Final and you're going to win." He then winked at me and gave me a small laugh. Which only caused me to shout out a single word.

"WHAT!?" I mean, what else could I have done?

It wasn't every day that one's idol came to your home and proudly announced not only the plan to become your coach, but to also have you win an event you'd previously came in dead last in. Seriously, I'd worried the man had just completely gone mad. Either that, or I was dreaming. Though I wasn't certain which seemed more realistic. Seriously, that was just crazy. I should have been dreaming, since he seemed to have an interest in me. That just… couldn't be right.

Yet Miss Okukawa, my ballet teacher, had decided to wake me from my thoughts when she'd burst inside and demanded to know about the rumors going around. When she'd found Victor passed out in one of the inns robes, she then went on to tell me that it seemed the rumor was that when Victor had watched the video of me skating to his routine, he'd become inspired and had decided to become my coach. He wanted me to be his protégé, and that was something I still was having trouble believing.

Of course, when he'd awoke, he said he was hungry and asked what I was enjoyed. When he had the pork cutlet bowl, he'd enjoyed it completely. So it came as no surprise that when he learned I normally was only allowed them when I won and that I'd been having them all the time since coming home, that he'd demanded that I stop having them and immediately ordered me to get back in shape. At least back to my weight from the Grand Prix Finals.

It should have been insulting, to be called fat and piggy by the man I idolized, but really, he was right, so there wasn't much to be insulted about. When I'd helped him to his room, I'd found myself once more off balance. Especially when he'd gotten right in my face and invaded my personal space while speaking simply.

"Now then, I want to know everything about you, Yuri. Like what kind of rink you skate at and what hobbies do you have?" At that, he got even closer, his hand coming up to cup my chin. "And if there's a girl you like?" he continued, even as his other hand then moved to touch over my arm and slid down against my hand. At this, I knew I was flaming bright red. I had never been comfortable being close to people and Victor was invading personal space in a way I had never had anyone invade before. It was a little disconcerting. Even more so, it was almost overly embarrassing to have him so close and saying such things. "Let's get to know each other. A relationship like this should be built on trust, don't you think?"

Of course, I'd reacted in the worst way possible. I cried out and scrambled back swiftly, moving as far out of the way as possible. There was so much I hadn't thought about and the other man was just speaking things that I would never have believed to hear before. Especially coming from another male.

"What's wrong, why'd you run away?" Victor questioned, even as I could tell I was having trouble still being so close to him.

"It's nothing… just a leg cramp," I'd used as the excuse for what I had done. It was strange. I had only been twelve when I'd first seen Victor. He'd been sixteen. I'd been awe inspired. He was a big reason for me spending time getting better at ice skating. I'd even began losing weight and working hard. I wanted to be back on the ice and Victor had banned me from it for till I wasn't overweight. It was amazing knowing that such an amazing man was here to coach me after having been inspired by my own skating of his routine.

Of course, once I'd lost the weight, I was given another surprise. Yuri Plisetsky. He'd suddenly showed up and kicked me into building. He was angry and I couldn't blame him. He was just as impressive as Victor and the following scene was far more than I had ever expected. Especially when it ended with Victor deciding to choreograph a program for both of us. The winner would get to keep Victor as a coach.

I was nervous. Yuri was far more confident and proud. That meant I had to work harder. I couldn't wuss out. I would have to work as hard as possible. Of course, I never realized that there was going to be so much that both of us were going to have to work on. On Love: Agape. On Love: Eros. It was a theme that both of us had agreed we were going to be far better for certain ones. Yet Victor had slammed us hard with reality. First, he'd placed us with the opposite songs that we'd originally wanted to do. Agape, innocent love, for Yurio, which is what my sister had dubbed the Russian Yuri as. Eros, Lustful Love, for myself. It was the opposite of what the both of us understood.

Yet Victor had a solid point. We couldn't just stick to what we were comfortable with. We didn't fully know ourselves and we were still new to the whole thing. Which meant that we had to work on ourselves or he would just write us off and teach neither one of us. I found myself overly eager for what was to come. While Yurio had demanded that if he won this little competition, he wanted Victor to go back to Russia and train him, I had demanded that I wanted to be able to win and eat pork cutlet bowls with him. Not just this time. But every time I continued with him and won. It was bold words from me. Yet I knew I was serious and that feeling would be powerful.

Victor was once more the most impressive person ever. He'd pulled me in. He'd seduced me with his words. It was amazing how much Eros the other man had put out and it had driven me a bit crazy. He was so close as he spoke. He was so sexy when he showed me the skills. Man, it was insane how much another man could affect me. Even worse that I was letting it distract me in ways I hadn't thought possible.

Soon, there was tons of training and lots of hard work. I watched as Yurio and I both struggled to understand our short programs. As the competition neared closer and closer, I could tell we both were having issues. Yet, the day before, I saw a change. Yurio caught his muse and I realized I was still missing mine. Which I luckily found after we'd chosen costumes. With that in mind, I ran to my ballet teacher's place and requested some help. I had a single day and night to perfect what I need.

As competition day arrived, I watched as Yurio performed. A beautiful, ever evolving monster. At fifteen he was impressive and I knew that it was the day at the waterfall, that had changed everything. I feared that I'd never be able to win against such a thing. I felt fear wash over me. Even as I began to tell myself that I had to win. Otherwise, Victor would leave. I begged him to watch me. And he promised me he would. So, I knew I had to skate my best. No matter what. At first, I didn't know who I was dancing for. But once I was on that ice, I knew.

I knew I couldn't be the playboy to that song. It just wasn't who I was. I had to be the woman. The one being teased. I had to be better than any woman out there. I had to show Victor I was best. When I was finished, the cheers were amazing. And Victor's words were impressive. That made me so happy. Even with the lecture afterward, I was still completely happy. So much so, that when I was announced as the winner, I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, standing on the podium.

"It's official. Yuri Katsuki is the winner of the Hot Springs on Ice. Now, do you have any words for the audience?" the announcer asked, even as Victor stood beside me and Yurio was nowhere to be seen.

"Um… well…" I began, my words obviously showing off just how nervous I was. Feeling a sudden warmth around my shoulders I felt myself straighten up slightly and feel more confidence than I'd ever felt before, even as my cheeks colored a faint pink. "This was the beginning. With Victor, I hope to win the Grand Prix Final. Thank you all for your continued support." At that moment, I knew the battle for my figure skating career, which I had once believed was over, had just began. And it was all because of the unexpected turn of events that had lead my idol to my door. What had begun as a farewell to skating had become the jump start I needed to find just what was missing.

Glancing at Victor at that moment… I found I had to correct myself. It wasn't just what I had been missing. It was what we'd both been missing. Hopefully, I wouldn't let him down. Sure, it was a little strange having my idol so focused on me. Even the flirting was strange. If I was more confident, I'd say he was serious about it all. Yet he wasn't, of that I was sure. He had just wanted to bring out the most in me. After the skate-off, I could tell it had paid off. Sure, I had never found myself attracted to men and I wasn't planning to start now, but I didn't feel it was wrong to enjoy the attention, even if it was just to improve my skill as a skater. I would learn all I could from Victor for as long as he was willing to teach me. If that meant being teased, well, there was worse things to deal with… wasn't there?

To Be Continued….